Walter h



(No Model.)

W. H. LEWIS, Jr. CURTAIN POLE AND RING.

No. 440,773. Patented Nov. 18, 1890.,

III/VENTUR: BY t ATTORNEYS.

NITE STATES ATENT rrrcn.

\VALTER H. LEWIS, JR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CURTAIN-POLE AND RING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,773, dated November18, 1890.

Application filed J 11110 23, 1888. Serial No. 277,919. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, WALTER H. LEWIS,J1., a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of New York, in the State of New York, haveinvented a certain new, useful, and Improved Curtain-Pole and Ring, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Heretofore slotted tubular poles have been employed in connection withcurtain-supporting devices of two general types. First, those employinga barrel-shaped roller, and, second, those comprising two hemisphericalrollers ,mounted on a spindle, and a hook-shank passed between the flatsurfaces of said roll ers and around said spindle and attached either toa hoop-shaped bail connected with the ends of said spindle or directlyto the spindle, so that the hook-shank separated the two rollers.Moreover, the portion of the stem of the hook-shank projecting throughthe slot was in most cases provided either with a washer or with a ringturned transversely of the pole, and although fairly-good results wereattained by the employment of such type of curtain-supporting deviceswhen used in connection with a cord located within the tube foroperating the curtain, whereby the supporting devices were more or lessperfectly maintained in proper position, still such devices, especiallywhen employed without operating-cords, but even when employed withsuchcords, became in use partly turned or otherwise displaced, whereuponthe rollers and the washers or transverse rings became caught or wedgedin the rod, or the periphery of one of the rollers slipped into theslot, so that in either case the curtain could not be closed or opened.

The principal object of my present invention are, first, to dispensewith the employment of two rollers separated by a hookshank providedwith a washer, and consequently to obviate the above-mentioneddisadvantages, and, second, to provide simple, inexpensive, and durabledevices for suspending curtains or portieres at Windows, doorways, andother openings, by means of which light or heavy curtains may be hung soas to work smoothly and quietly and present a neat appearance.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be morefully understood from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which Figure 1is an elevation, partly in section, of the upper portion of a doorway orpassage having a curtain or portiere hung therein by means ofcurtain-supporting devices embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is atransverse section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 00 0c ofFig. 1, showing a complete sphere or ball pivoted to a transverse bail,and said bail rigidly attached to an 8-shaped hanger. Fig. 3 is anenlarged side elevation of one of the curtain-supporting devices,showing the 8-shaped hanger, one loop of which encircles the sphere andthe other loop of which affords means for attaching the edge of thecurtain or portiere thereto. Fig. 4: is a section on the line y. y ofFig. 3, showing an 8- shaped hanger having two parallel surfaces forpreventing the same from becoming wedged in the slot of the pole; andFig. 5 is aninverted or bottom plan View, taken on the line z z of Fig.4, showing the B-shaped hanger and bail rigidly connected together.

In the drawings, 0 are the sides of aframe bounding a doorway orpassage.

A is a tubular curtain-pole provided upon the under sides thereof with alongitudinal slot at and supported at the respective ex tremitiesthereof by socket-plates 0, attached to the frame 0 in the usual or inany preferred manner.

F is a sphere or ball provided with an aperture extending therethrough,for a purpose to be presently described. Excellent re sults have beenattained in practice by making these spheres of india-rubber, andtherefore preference is given to the employment of such material.

E is ahoop-shaped bail provided at the center thereof with anupwardly-projecting lug c, and having the respective extremities thereofprovided with an aperture e.

f is a spindle passing through the apertures e and through the aperturein the ball F, so that the latter is pivotally attached to the bail E.

The rings or loops D and d comprise an 8- shaped hanger. The loop D issplit at a point diametrically opposite to ring d, and the extremitiesthereof are provided with upwardlyprojecting lugs 61, respectively.These lugs d fit snugly up against the sides of the lug e, and arerigidly attached thereto by means of the rivet G, so that the bail E and8-shaped hanger occupy positions at right angles to each other.Moreover, the body of the bail E is broader than'its central portion,which is attached to the lugs cl of the loop or ring D. Hence there areformed on the bail E four shoulders 6 which hear at as many places onopposite front and rear faces of the ring or loop D, so as to giveadditional security against twisting of the bail E and loop D on eachother at their joint, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig.5.

In use the curtain-supporting devices are located in the interior of thepole A, with the rings or loops cl projecting down ward through the slota, and the curtain or portiere B is hung by means of eyes or hooks I)attached to the upper edge thereof and passing through the rings (1. Thecurtain Bis open ed or closed by simply pushing or drawing it to oneside by the hand and without the employment of cords.

The mode of operation of my curtain-supporting devices is as follows:The balls or spheres F roll along the bottom of the tube A, bearing atall times on both sides of the slot a, so that it is impossible for themto become wedged or caught therein, and inasmuch as the balls F arepreferably composed of rubber there is no noise incident to their travelthrough the pole A. Moreover, the 8- shaped hangers are not onlypermitted a freedom of motion through and along the slot a, but also anoscillating or rocking motion without becoming wedged or otherwisecaught in the slot a, and this result is due to the fact that the rings(Z and D are turned in the same direction and are of the same thicknessthroughout.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which my inventionrelates that it possesses, among others, the following markedadvantagesnamely, that the entire curtain-fixtures are inexpensive,strong, and durable, and present a Very neat appearance in use, and areadapted for hanging either light or heavy, cheap or expensive curtainswithout liability of becoming caught or wedged in the slotted pole.

Having thus described the nature and objects of my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described curtain-supporting device, which comprises asphere or ball pivoted to an arch-shaped bail, and an 8 shaped hangerrigidly attached to said bail and having the two loops or rings thereoflying in the same direction and at right angles with said bail,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of a slotted tubular curtain-pole, a solid sphere, anarch-shaped bail, and an 8-shaped hanger having the loops thereof turnedin the same direction and at right angles with said bail, all arrangedsubstantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

7 WALTER H. LEWVIS, J R.

Witnesses:

EDWD. M. CLARK, O. SEDGWICK.

